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Making His Mark
We sat down with Larry Fellows, the bassist for the fake band in Almost Famous, and Mark Kozelek, the real lead singer of Sun Kil Moon and the Red House Painters. Later we figured out they were the same person. (Can we borrow your glasses?)
Stuff,
12/16/2003
By Cory Jones
What is the status of the Red House Painters?
We’re still together; everyone’s just doing their separate thing right now. I imagine when I’m finished promoting this record, we may get back into another record. I’m not sure, but we’re all still friends.
There are a few boxing references on the new Sun Kil Moon album. Do you ever box?
No, no. It’s just something I enjoy watching and following. I read about the history, but I’m a couch potato. I don’t ski or mountain climb or snowboard. I’m not one of those people that gets out there and gets on things that move really fast and slip down a hill. Getting involved in anything dangerous is not my thing.
You’ve been compared to Neil Young quite a bit. Are you going to grow gnarly sideburns and perform with Pearl Jam when you’re 50?
That’s funny. I don’t know, man. I saw him, like, two years ago. His daughter lives in my neighborhood, and I saw him walking down my street. And he was like…man, moving really, really slow. [Laughs] He was walking up the hill and I was walking down and, man, he was just moving really slow. I said, “Hey, Neil,” and he nodded at me. That was my little brush, and even that had me tossing in my sleep for two weeks. It was like, “Wow, I just saw this guy I’d been listening to since I was a kid.” The same thing happened to me when I went with my sister to see Judas Priest when I was a kid. We were in the front row, and to this day I clearly remember Glenn Tipton looking down and looking me right in the eyes. Even though these silly little things that are so subtle, as a fan…man, they stick with you for life. Like Neil Young looking up and nodding at me. It was like, man, that’s all I need.
How much longer do you see yourself touring?
I think it’s different for people like Neil Young or U2 or R.E.M.—guys that have obnoxious amounts of success. I can see if you’re in that world where you’ve got three nights off between shows and you’re flying around first class and you’re completely catered to. When I tour, I play the same places I played 10 years ago. [Laughs] Things aren’t really “progressing” for me. I’m still riding around in a 16-passenger van with a U-Haul on the back and flying coach.
You released two albums of AC/DC covers. If AC/DC chose to cover your songs, what would they sound like?
I was recently in a documentary that they’re in, and it occurred to me that these guys are, like, Neanderthals. [Laughs] The reason all their records sound the same is that’s the only thing these guys know how to do. It’s all these guys are capable of. I was watching this interview with Angus Young and he can’t even finish sentences. So, I imagine those three or four chords he always plays would be the same ones he’d play when he’s covering my songs.
You play pretty quiet shows. Have you ever had any trouble with loud audiences?
One time in L.A. there was this big, huge guy who screamed, “Fuck you!” right in this quiet spot in a song, and I kinda went off on him. I screamed, “Fuck you!” back at him and threatened to fight him. I said something like, “You think I’m a skinny piece of shit, but I’ll kick the shit outta you.” And the crowd was like, “Yeah!” so he left. After the show, he showed up and started coming towards me. I said to the bouncer, “Fuck, man, I can’t fight.” It turned out that he only wanted to apologize, but afterwards there were rumors that I beat the shit out of him.
How is the acting stuff going? Are you looking to do more of that?
It’s going good. I just got hired for a Steve Martin movie called Shopgirl. It’s starring him and Claire Daines and Jason Schwartzman. The director was a fan of my band and had seen Almost Famous.
In the bus scene in Almost Famous, you are rubbing a young lady’s foot. Was that part of the script or a bit of improv?
She was this girl I actually dated for a while. She was hired to replace Bijou Philips. In the movie business they call them “locationships.” We were out in the middle of the desert and that whole thing came out of that. Cameron [Crowe] decided it was OK if she had her foot up on my lap.
You have a reputation as a bit of a ladies man. Is that rep earned?
[Laughs] I guess the best way I could respond to that is…uhhh…I’ve been single for a lot of my life spent in this career. During Almost Famous, I was the only single guy down there. Everyone else was married so it was a good situation to be in. I don’t go to a bar and bring a girl home. Girls don’t come up to me and go, “Wow, you have really great hair.” But being in a band, you go out and tour and you get approached by cute girls—it just happens. When you’re single and you’re traveling around, and you’re straight, why would you not do that? [Laughs] Believe me, I’ve gotten into situations I’ve regretted. I’ve learned who to get into a car with and who not to get into a car with. But now things are much tamer in my life. I’m more selective about who I give my phone number to.
What has the better groupies: movies or music?
For me, movies. When it comes to music, groupies have invested a lot in the night they’re going to spend with you. They have all your records, they’ve created this image of you and it’s an experience they don’t want to forget. They want to be your friend forever. That’s kind of an out-of-balance relationship when I have to leave the next day and I’m going to meet another person just like them in the next town. [Laughs] I know that sounds cruel. But in the movie business the only reason she’s sleeping with you is because she couldn’t sleep with blah-blah-blah because he’s married. There’s not a big investment in that. She’s not going to be upset with you if you decide you don’t want to be involved with her.
During a New York show, you made a joke about visiting VD clinics. Are you and penicillin good friends?
Well, the thing about jokes like that is they seem pretty obnoxious and can be embarrassing when I hear about them later. But when I play live, it’s a pretty serious audience, and I like to make people laugh. And I have a sense of humor about the fact I have been promiscuous in my life. I can’t be that serious about how I’ve lived and the things that I’ve done. When I was really young—in my late teens—I had to visit a few VD clinics. [Laughs] I haven’t had to in a really long time, but there was a time in my life when I had to take the number and sit and wait. And I’m familiar with liquid nitrogen or whatever they use. [Laughs] But you gotta have a sense of humor.
Trust us, Mark, these are tears of laughter. And sadness.
Sun Kil Moon’s new album, Ghosts of the Great Highway, is now available on Jet Set Records
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